Wonderful Wonderful Romance: Of White Rabbits and strange partnerships
by chaos-dark-lord
Summary: Peter would like to kill the mercenary, but sadly any damage she gets he receives it to and viceversa. If only he had kept his mouth shut. His time is running short, when that vial fills it-s the end for him.
1. Think before you speak

**Follow–up romance route for the series "Wonderful Wonderful Science". So it's recommended to read that.**

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**CHAPTER 1:** **THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK**

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Peter White, prime minister of the country of Hearts was sulking with distaste regarding the heavy feeling in his gut.

They were back from Diamond and he headed to his office to try and distract himself in work to forget about the issue. Sadly, all the hardest tasks regarding the management of the country of Hearts had been mostly or completely attended already. To his dismay, by the dreaded person that dared attack his thoughts with her presence; none other than the recently gone "Aria Hadron Scherzi", the "white neck mercenary" foreigner.

She had been efficient in hearts, and he briefly wondered how much she had done during her very short stay at Diamond if she had earned the attention of Sydney Black, the prime minister of that land at the other side of the mirror and his self-proclaimed rival. For some reason that bothered him.

During the fight with the Jabberwocky, he had ended up teaming up with Sydney. After the fight, he had wanted to run to Alice and cradle her in the safety of his arms but he could not do so because she had been doing precisely that with her lover Blood Dupre, he mad hatter. Instead, he had reduced himself to enter into a verbal spat with his so undeservedly called rival, until the Black rabbit had asked him about his relation with the other foreigner and they had gone into another argument until it was time to come back to his own duties at the castle of Hearts; leaving behind that other haunted place and wishfully, the dreaded memory of her within it.

That had been his plan at least, but unfortunately everything reminded him about the bloody mercenary. Even the accounting records had traces of her with her onerous payments!

Hu huffed. Having no other option, he decided to take a break. Maybe a good book would suffice to entertain him, so he headed to the library and there he found the "king", the roleholder everyone always forgot about and who currently was revising some history books when Peter came in.

_"Lucky surprise to see you here, prime minister. Looking for something in specific_?" - The king barely acknowledged him engrossed as he was into whatever he was researching and Peter knew that it was related to her.

_"Nothing else but a bit of entertainment your majesty. I find myself in need of some mental distraction."- _Peter merely answered, not in the mood for conversation.

_"You don't need to explain. We know that the recent events and the thoughts of lady Hadron's lost fills everyone's minds."- _The king took out more books from the shelves.

_"Id rather her be banished from memory. The sole effects of her presence are unbefitting to enter our minds"- _Being reminded of her was the last Peter had come to look for.

_"Yet they do, and her value and contributions to our lives, and all the effects she had are undeniable. You should appreciate her help at the very least in the tedious management of this country. Not to mention that without her the Jabberwocky would have never been stopped. So we all own our lives to her" – _The king said dryly, clearly sharing or liking the prime minister's opinion.

_"I own or hold no appreciating for such callous vermin." – _Peter hated that the king's words were true.

The king shut close the book he had in his hands and Peter saw the ire in the kings eyes, remembering and understanding that the king was a roleholder too. Which meant that he had also fallen in love with the foreigner.

_"She made such advancements in the administration of this place during her stay in this world that yours pale in comparison prime minister. Had we have her around here she would receive the highest charge and praise she deserves." – _The king's look was harsh and unforgiving_\- "Do remember that you are easily replaceable, white rabbit."- _Suddenly, the king smiled with coldness _-" Yet I will make use of you by the power and authority of my role. FOLLOW ME "_

Peter had never though much of the king and never had the sovereign used his role's authority to order anything; however, seeing the king issue a royal command and turning around andwith the regal grace he never showed, made him rethink his position and opinion of the older man.

Without a sound he followed the king.

They reached the monarch's own office and the king went to a painting, and from the safe hidden in the niche behind said painting he took a key, which he used in a secret compartment inside a grandfather clock to take out an old pocket watch. The watch didn't have hands or face.

From the same compartment the king took out a small bottle filled with a small quantity of an octarine glowing liquid, such color belonged to only one substance. A potion of hearts.

_"Despite your opinions or your will, as your role commands, you are to ensure the benefit of this country prime minister. As such, by the power and position of my own role I command thee to take an oath for the benefit of Wonderland and the country of Hearts_."- He gave a knife and the pocket watch to Peter- "_Take the clock and let your blood sign an out on this watch."_

Peter was surprised and outraged. He wanted to throw such clock straight into the king's face, but he couldn't. The clock burned in his hand and he found himself unable to disobey the king's command, which meant that Wonderland was validating and enforcing this. Maybe as a punishment for of sorts. It had been unwise to diminish and underestimate the king, a role that in the past had truly hold power, even if now it had only just the remembrance of such.

The white rabbit cut his own hand open with the knife and his blood began soaking the clock, but rather than drop to the floor, it was being absorbed into the metal devise.

The king then took out a locket from his clothes and opened it. Inside it was a little painting of the lost foreigner and a lock of multishaded blond hair that obviously had belonged to her. The king of Hearts approached the rabbit and put some her hair lock in the center of the clock. Then he took the bottle to let the liquid fall over the clock.

_"I didnt' want to resort to this, but you leaved me no choice. If wonderland needs a life anchor to bring her back, so be it. Such a shame that such powerful items are being wasted like this, yet situation calls for it." – _The look the king had gave away nothing.

Peter felt a burning sensation into his own clock and ended up in his knees panting, still holding the clock in one hand as the drops of glowing liquid transformed into a jewel that reformed the face of the clock as the hairs extended and transformed into hands for clock and then the remaining drops of the liquid finished the job by creating the cover encasing all. After the burning sensation ended, he noticed that the pocket watch's clock had started going at the same pace that the clock inside his chest.

"_Go away. You are dismissed." – _The king walked past him and headed to his desk to continue his own work-_ "Wonderland will make sure that she comes back if she's alive. And when she does... if she dies or gets hurt so will you prime minister."- _The man grabbed some documents and began reading them before silently adding_\- "…Unfortunately, the same goes too for her."_

The next morning Peter woke up curled and hugging his pillow. He had such a bad dream last night... wait... why did his pillow moved and why was it so big and hard?

He opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't hugging a pillow at all. He screamed. It was the dread of his life, the mercenary foreigner, who woke up at Peter screech. She rolled back on the bed to gain some distance and hissed at him with evident confusion and daze. In the night table on her side of the bed Peter could see the pocket watch the king had given him and this foreigner's empty vial.

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**Sadly I have limited time to write, so updates will be determined by which story is reviewed. **


	2. Back in Hearts

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**CHAPTER 2: BACK IN HEARTS**

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Out of nowhere and without thinking much, Peter took out a gun and shot her. The hit impacted on her armored chest and he felt light blunt impact hit on his own chest; in the same instant, as she jumped forward on the bed her eyes glowed with a red digital glow. She rolled towards him to get close, and with the blackened blade that came straight out of her right forearm she performed an upper slash at his chest. He barely dodged by moving behind but her blade managed to grace him with a long but light scratch along his arm while she unleashed the blade of her left forearm to disarm him. He kicked her on the chest to push her away but she lifting her knee and used it to block his kick.

Both stopped. Peter felt the pain of a kick in his knee while she felt her own arm bleed from a slash.

Without removing her gaze from his widening red eyes, she undid a latch on her suit to reveal her arm. She had the same slashing wound that she had given the white rabbit .

"_Discover your chest White."- _The mercenary said in that digitally distorted voice he was used to hear from her.

"_Don't tell me what to do, you undesired plague._"- Yet he unbuttoned the top 2 bottoms of his night shirt to reveal a blunt dot exactly where his bullet had hit her chest.

Both exchanged looks between the shared wounds.

"_What the hell is happening Rabbit!?"-_ She growled and kept her guard up but didn't attack anymore. More than angry she seemed dazed and confused.

"_You!... How!?... The king Knows!"-_ Peter's mouth opened and closed in bewildment. He was as baffled and confused as she was.

"_The king?"_ – She remained on guard but her stance was more defensive than aggressive.

"_Yes vermin, he did something to bring you back..."_ – His ears perked when he understood that the king had done something to him to bring her back- _"... He... He used that clock!_"- He motioned with his eyes to the pocket watch and empty vial on the night stand.

She didn't stopped looking at him when she tried to move away and back to round the bed; when she got 2 meters away, she felt uncomfortable, and with every other step she took , the discomfort turned into pain; it was a cold deep aching in all her body .

Peter hadn't moved at all but he seemed to be in the same condition. When the pain was too much, he took a couple steps forwards towards her and the sensation demised. He tentatively moved back again and the pain resumed.

As they got close all pain or discomfort disappeared. It was obvious that whatever was happening was related to their proximity.

She took a couple wary steps towards his proximity while cussing loudly. He groaned at her distressing presence and looked at her. She was in a battered and dirty state and he couldn't even think about where she could have been all this time.

"_Let's make a truce until we figure this out, White."-_ She offered in words but didn't even extend her hand.

He hesitated, but after a few second he slowly nodded with distress clear in his features.- "_We don't have other choice it seems"_

They moved to grab the pocket watch and the vial with as much space between each other as they could manage. She grabbed both items and headed for the door but he didn't move.

"_What's it rabbit? Didn't you say that we need to see the king_?"- Her tone was full of annoyment and impatience.

With a slight red tint in his cheeks Peter began walking towards the dressing room- "_I'm not heading out in my night clothes._"- Very awkwardly stepped inside and closed the door while she remained outside leaning on the wall. –"_Wait there while I change_."

She didn't bother to answer him. She was confused as to what had happened and how it was that she was here.

When Peter finished, both headed off without a word to see the king among the murmurs of the servants and soldiers that happened to see them. To Peter's dismay, they seemed happy to see her.

They wasted little formalities. As soon as they entered the king's office, the monarch stood up to greet the foreigner and beckoned her to sit down while ignoring the prime minister.

"_It is a pleasure to see you again Lady Aria_"- The king looked happy.

"_It is good to be back in Hearts and to see you again your majesty_" – The foreigner girl said with aloof cordiality.

Peter noticed that she seemed quite at ease with the king. Before he could interject, tea and snacks were brought and the mercenary dread and the king settled amicably to talk.

"_Much has happened in so little time after the concert event in the amusement park..."_\- The monarch began – "_I'm sure you'd like to hear about it first."_

She nodded unenthusiastically and took a small tart from the tray while Peter sat down in a position at the middle so that he could see both of them and assets their body language.

"_As you probably know, the country of Diamond was thought to be lost, that thankfully was apparently remedied by you_. "- The king raised his cup to her – "_However, it was indeed frozen in time, and while we all were there, time kept on going in Clover and Hearts."_

She remained quiet to let him speak and Peter took out a sip of his tea while carefully looking at the mercenary female and at the sly king. They remained calm and collected, but Peter was somewhat anxious below his aloofness. The king wanted something and had crafted a plan that involved both the mercenary and himself, and he got the feeling that it very well could be worse for him that it already was.

The king closed his eyes for a second before taking a deep breath - "_After the fight with the dreaded jabberwocky we came back. There was no way to reach wherever you had ended up and we merely returned and resumed our duties in our respective territories. However, when we came back we found that some things had happened in our absence._"

She put down her cup - "_How long was that absence lapse? If time was frozen at the other side of the mirror then how long passed here?"_

"_Weeks at least if not months_" – Peter answered to see her reaction. He noticed that although she remained controlled, her hand seemed to grip harder the tea cup she was holding.

"_I see... please continue your majesty. What happened here in the meantime?_"- She leaved the cup aside and took another pastry.

"_We came back to find factions struggling and a lot of the population wiped out. Apparently there was an internal war for control between faceless factions. But that is unimportant. I'm sure that_

_much happened to you too_."- The king turned serious under his practiced smile- _"I'm not sure that you would like to tell anyone of your experiences given how things have gone in your game. Especially after the concert event. But please do tell me, what happened to you after the battle in Diamond ? "_

She frowned – _"I... I ended up in Spades. Quite frankly I never expected to survive._"- She looked at the king and Peter in the eyes before continuing _–"I don't know how long I was there. The place was dead but not completely empty... " _

"_What do you mean by that?"-_ Peter's eyes narrowed and he felt a shiver running along his back. Diamond had been bad, but Spades shouldn't even be there at all.

She tried to take a sip of her cup but she noticed that her hand shacked and desisted. She closed her eyes and sighted – "_Spades will be fine eventually just like Diamond. Even if it takes decades or centuries... I made a deal with Wonderland and a deal was made with me. That is all I'm willing to say. "_

The kings calculating gaze fell on her-"_You... you are really something else_."- He crossed his hands over his lap and looked at her with serious respect in his face.- "_Not even for a second would I doubt your world after all I've seen and heard about your doings._ "- At this he gazed with some disdain to Peter, reminding the rabbit of how she had taken care of the nastiest administrative projects and managements as much as the most creative one sin all the territories during her past brief stay.- "_You certainly are not what anyone in this world would deem of a foreigner. I will not question your choice to remain silent either, and I should also inform you that the king of Diamond shared some of his insights about your stay there."_

Peter raised an eyebrow, he barely believe this.

"_The king from Diamond was quite affected by the outcome..."-_ The king of Hearts seemed to be getting somwhere with his words-"_Maybe he gave you a proposal like mine?"_

Aria seemed more calm now -"_Not at all. Your proposal had been the only serious one I have ever received in this world"_

The king smiled in relief- "_And it's still up"-_The king assured - _"However we should wait to even discuss it in case you so desire it until you have settled into this side of the mirror again. And until the pact with the prime minister ends"_

"_Pact?"-_ Her eyes widened a bit as she tilted her head in a questioning way.

"_Yes. You see, to bring you back I linked the time of your vial to the time in the country of hearts by using the prime minister as anchor"._\- The king explained _– "I used an old relic for that" _

"_Which means that I'm basically linked to him"_\- She closed her eyes and though, then she took out her vial and showed them how it was empty.

"_Unfortunately so. Just as he is linked to you. The damage you receive he receives too and vice versa. But as your vial fills again, the effects of such connection will begin disappearing. And your vial... It was quite full if I remember correctly_"

"It was."- She calmly muttered

"_It's empty again_ "- Peter grabbed the pocket watch and saw that it had an image of a vial in the background, no doubt it was linked to her vial, he also had the sensation that there was way too much information that she and the king were keeping to themselves. Especially about that mysterious proposal.

"_Well, then I guess we'll have the honor of having you as guest_"- The king played with his mustache- "_May I hire you as chief executive for the interior? Or perhaps you'd like some other function or tittle. Our general rarely does his job... "_

She raised an eyebrow- "_Chief executive for the interior? And that is...?"_

The king examined his nails while directing a sly smile to the prime minister.- _"Basically you'd simply have to do all that you were doing already when the prime minister hired you to do half of his job, except that with a better payment, benefices and a soundly tittle " _

Peter rose up suddenly and slammed his hands on the able- "_You can't do that!"_

"_Silence Prime Minister!"-_ The king's voice was full of authority – "_The country of hearts allows it. She has performed wonders of the highest prize, and she can choose her stand."_

Peter bit back his tongue. There was little he could do. He couldn't kill her either or he would die. This was the worst thing that had ever happened in his entire life.

Aria raised an eyebrow and took a sip of her own tea. -"_So I have a job until my vial fills again and I'm free of this rodent?... I suppose I don't really have a choice because I have to be near him_."

"_That is excellent._"- The king beamed a smile. This somehow fit in his plans whatever those were.

Suddenly there was a knock.

"_Please excuse me for a moment._ " -The king stood up and went to see what it was; if anyone was bothering them it surely was with a good reason.

Peter turned to tell her something. She remained unmoving and impassive and Peter realized that he didn't know what to say.

A few seconds later, the king came back.

"_Do forgive that I must leave, but I have duties to attend to. In the meantime, I expect the prime minister to settle his temper and come to an agreement for cohabitation with you_"

Peter suppressed his growl again and turned to the foreigner that was seemingly unfazed by all this.- "_Let's go to my office to discuss this, you rouge_"- He said dripping coldness.

She nodded and stood up. The king kissed her hand and said his farewells before he went to his desk as the prime minister and the foreigner leaved the room.

The trail towards Peter's office was quiet except for one comment from the mercenary - "_If you managed to anger the king you must have fucked it off really bad."_

He didn't answer. He despised this situation as much as he despised her, but they would need to negotiate and agree on some if they didn't want to kill each other at the slightest provocation. This was gonna be very hard.

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**Yep. Even if they want to kill each other they can't without killing themselves, heck, any wound that one gets the other gets it too; not only that, they need to be near even when they can't stand each other XD **

**And there's that misterious proposal and the king is probably hidding things... Any idea what it could be?**

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**About updates - Once I get at least 5 reviews on a story I update it. **


	3. The Queen's plans

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**CHAPTER 3: THE QUEEN'S PLANS  
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They were alone in Peter's office with serious discomfort and animosity towards each other. In just a couple hours, the white rabbit had managed to move Aria's wary indifference into despise and she had managed to move him from distaste to complete loathing. Which was a feat for both of them considering that they hadn't even spoken about anything but their situation.

Per her forceful suggestion and after some tries, they determined that the maximum bearable distance to get apart was between 2 and 3 meters. Way too little in their opinions.

Peter accommodated his glasses over his nose with unveiled disgust. -"_This is dreadful. To think that I must be in the proximity of such an unbecoming creature."_

"_Yes. It is very unfortunate that I'm back and forced in the company of a creature such as you"- _She made it obvious that from her perspective, the 'unbecoming creature' was him.

"_Unfortunate is that you are back at all_."- Peter's cold expression also didn't let on any sympathy towards her. Despise everything. He still refused to acknowledge anything good about her- "_You should have remained where you were, or at least in the country of Diamond faraway._"

"_Diamond?"-_ She blinked, now remembering it. Her stay in Diamond had been brief but important. – "W_hat happened to Diamond after I disappeared? _

Peter narrowed his red eyes. Initially he had wanted to believe that she had lied. How could anyone go or come back from a lost place like the country of Spades? But if she was telling the true…- _"It simply is there and so are their king, the dodo and that Black rabbit_."

"_You mean Sydney_?" – She crossed her arms and though about it. Then her eyes widened at some dark realization and her expression turned into a sadistic smirk – "_Oh yes, dear Sydney... Thanks for reminding me of him. Now I know how I can deal with the risk the roleholders present to me."_

She closed her eyes one again as her confident smile turned into a deranged smirk, just before she let out a dark and malign chuckle that became a full mad laugher that hurt Peter's ears and made a shiver run through his spine.

The horrible, machinely distorted, and unnatural sound was akin to the screech that had even made the Jabberwocky cringe. More to say something to shut her up than because he really meant it, he spoke_\- "Risk!? You dare think I would allow risks when any damage done do you is bestowed upon my person!?"_

She stopped her laugh abruptly and her olive green eyes showed an evil and maddened, yet disturbingly happy glint- "_What you think is meaningless rabbit._ _I have my own means to ensure my safety and I'm going to exploit them. I will..."_

The door swung open and an entire retinue, with the queen of Hearts at the head, strolled into the spacious office.

"_We feel aggravated at not being immediately informed of the arrival of our foreigner guest_. " – Vivaldi loudly proclaimed while stepping forward and setting herself in front of the annoyed prime minister and the impassive, yet wary foreigner mercenary.

"_Vivaldi_…"- Aria had adopted a veiled defensive posture. – "_Mmmhhh... hi?"_

Vivaldi turned around to her servants and court with a scowl on her face. - "_We order that a tea party should be started right now! Everyone is dismissed. Go and fetch whatever is needed!_

The servants ran away quickly and when the last one closed the door, Vivaldi turned around and dragged the multi shaded blond girl into a hug to the surprise of said girl and the one present rabbit.

"_We are so glad that you are safe and alive!_"

Aria was utterly stunned and Aria endured the hug with stiff confusion- _"Why are you hugging me Vivaldi?"- Th_e queen let go and the mercenary's eyes looked at the royal's with inquiry and just the slightest distrust - " _Why would you be glad that I'd be safe, alive or even back at all?_"

Now it was Vivaldi's turn to blink in confusion that immediately turned into understanding; and with all the patience and sensibility of a mature woman, she answered. - "_We hugged you because we are glad to see you. And we are glad to see you because we like and enjoy your presence and existence. We celebrate that you are well and in our company again."_

"_Oh..."- _She still seemed confused, even lost.

The queen observed Aria with expert appraisal and noticed that there was something different about her demeanor– "_We see that you are... distressed. Would you care to enlighten us on your adventures and experiences after the dreaded and frumius Jabberwocky was defeated in Diamond thanks to foreigner courage_?

Aria looked at Vivaldi with calm. The words 'foreigner courage' might have been directed to Alice, and Aria had to remind herself that she had to be careful. Hadn't they all gone to hunt her down or back Alice up against her in Diamond? Her memory was still fuzzy. She looked down and crossed her arms. –" _I'll tell you what I told the king and what I will tell anyone, Vivaldi. _"– She took a deep breath and looked out of the window.- "_I ended up in Spades and I don't know how long I was there. The place was dead but not completely empty and eventually it´ll be restored, just like Diamond."_

"_But what about you?- _ Vivaldi noticed the hesitation and tiredness in her figure as much as the confusion and slight exasperation in her answers. It was as if she was keeping silence for more than one reason.

"_My game should have ended. My vial was shattered... I made a deal with Wonderland and a deal was made with me. That is all."- _Aria shrugged her shoulders and dismissed it.

"_We know it's not all_."-Vivaldi's to her hand to her mouth. Aria's answer was completely fantastical. A shattered vial without a winner for the game? A deal with Wonderland? No wonder her heart was a mess after her ongoings. The queen was really expectant to find out, but it was obvious that such would have to wait. Men might have not noticed, but the foreigners utter tiredness was plain to her_.-"But we understand a woman's needs to settle her own heart and the secrets it holds."_

"_Despite her having a beating heart she is heartless your majesty, you should know that."- _Peter interjected with a disdainful huff; remembering how during that fight Alice had been in terrible he though how now he was forced in the most despicable way to look after the safety of this wretched mock of a foreigner; no matter how much he wanted to get rid of her.

"_Silence White! You can't understand what transpires though a girl's heart"- _Vivaldi scowled the prime minister.

"_And that is nonexistent when it comes to this rouge your majesty"-Peter's gaze was cold.- "What we should interrogate her about is on what she means by 'dead but not empty'. How could there be anything there after all those centuries? "- _Peter gave argument to his words. He may not like her but her information could be important.

Aria's mechanically moved her head at him. _-"The Jabberwocky in Diamond was but a strand of the real Jabberwocky_"

Both roleholder's eyes widened as they turned sharply in her direction. The Jabberwocky was the most terrible frumious beast; made out of the darkness of the worst emotions and capable of erasing all that existed in Wonderland. It had devoured uncountable lives and would have been impossible to defeat if both foreigners hadn't teamed up and used the winxy pistol to defeat it, and even so only after Aria had called forth all the power of mechanized unbelievable artillery from her past in her world and at a great cost for herself in order to kill all the lives that the creature had absorbed.

Peter felt his fur stand on edge. That just could be true. He had no reason to believe her but he also didn't have any reason not to. In any case he should be wary.

"_I took care of things. It'll be fine_"- She said mechanically while gripping her elbow with her other hand and looking away towards the window with a ghostly expression.- "_That's all I'll say"_

If she had truly done something it might be fine; but she definitely was not.

Just then, the servants came and settled the things for the tea party and the eyes people took their seats. Vivaldi used the chance to ease the tension by changing the topic to other important stuff.

"May we ask what you plan to do during stay this time?"- The queen waved her hand to order all the unnecessary personnel to leave.

Aria huffed and looked sideways at the prime minister - _"I'm afraid that I have no choice but to stay here for a while Vivaldi. Unfortunately, the prime minister and I are in a situation that requires our mutual and close cooperation_"

Vivaldi had encountered the king in the corridors and he had informed her on the situation. It was indeed very funny.

"_We are aware of it but no one else is_"- She discretely laughed –"_I already ordered the prime minister's quarters to be adequate to include a female's needs. I even took the liberty of awarding you a new wardrobe to suit your needs. We shall go and shop for it soon, but in the meantime, some basic outfits shall be ready at your disposal"._

It had actually been a secret fantasy of the queen to take the girl shopping and get her out of the armor she usually wore, and dress her up in a feminine way. She knew the girl had actually good taste but simply refused to use it in her paranoia, and unlike Alice, who was undoubtly cute, Aria's more mature and fit body could be far more sensual and the queen had proposed herself to make all the foolish men that had not taken the chances with her suffer the sweet delight of 'seeing but not touching'.-"_Your basic necessities should also be covered with appropriate female products…_"

Vivaldi took a sip of her tea with an amused smile in her lips while Peter's and Aria´s eyes went wide with dread at the horrible prospect that they would have to live together in very close proximity, which included everything, working, eating, walking... even sleeping and oh so terribly bathing together. Peter looked short of panicked and became as still as if someone had grabbed him by the ears while she silently cussed.

The queen found the situation incredibly entertaining and was also happy that she'd have a foreigner girl to dress up and spend time with as much as it would be fun to mess with the prime minister at the same time; however, the couple didn't seem to share her joy by the grossed out looks they were giving each other. Maybe she should sent them to 'couple's therapy' if any incident happened.

Then the mercenary looked up at the queen of hearts.- "_Vivaldi can you give Peter a few days off? I need to settle some personal issues and we need to seek information on this situation."_ – She quickly and methodically said, her strategically mind already forming plans.

"That should be acceptable. We also assume that you will notify all those fools of your return?- Vivaldi, more than ask, suggested.

"I will speak with some but only to get information on this issue. "

Vivaldi noticed that Aria didn't t seem to care about letting others know she was alive... she didn't seem to care at all for anything. But what reasons should she have? The queen wanted to find out.

Once gain Vivaldi changed the topic and continued the chat with small talk about what had happened during her absence with the purpose of informing the girl about the occurrences in all territories. But after a little while she noticed that the other female seemed distracted. She mercenary was very good at dissimulating her exhaustion, but it was already catching up to her.

"_This's has been a wonderful moment, but sadly we must leave now. We urge you to go and look at the settings of your accommodations and take a rest_." Then she turned towards Peter – "_That is an order." _

And with that, the queen elegantly stood up and left followed by the servants.

Peter stood up too and looked at her. – "_Let's go, you ..."_

She pinched her own ear to make him suffer it as she hissed- "_I have a name. And you dare insult me again and I will make sure you deeply regret it_" – She stood up to went pass him, stopping short when the pain started due to the separating distance.

He groaned and walked near her to ease the sensation with his head high and his nose pointing upwards. - "_You lack the skills to be up to my level. You can't so anything unless you wish to harm yourself."_

"_I don't need to procure physical damage rodent."- _She was a master of unconventional torture. Joker could attest to that.

"_Your pathetic bragging bores me. What could you even do?"- _He didn't believe her.

"_There are some things worse than dead. For starters, I could deliver Alice her diary. The one you had and kept hidden from her_"… Aria examined her fingers while walking a step in front of him.

Peter stopped his walking. Alice's diary contained the truth of what Alice's life had been past the point of when she had been brought to Wonderland.

"_You are the one who has it!?"-_ He used all of his willpower to contain himself. If Alice ever read that…

"_Keep walking rabbit. Or else I can do even worse_."- She continued her walking.

"_You think you're petty blackmail scares me?"-_ He grabbed her by roughly by the arm.

She snatched her arm from his grasp- _"Petty Blackmail? That would be the less of your worries. You think I didn't take insurances? Now let's go."_

Peter really wanted to shot her now. But he decided to be a bit more patient and first find out where the diary was and where she had hidden it.

Both finally reached his room just in time for night to fall down. Despite herself, she yawned from her tiredness. She was aware that she would not be able to remain awake or faking it for long.

They entered the prime minister's quarters and made sure the door was closed behind them. The place was basically a very big, neat and elegant apartment before they saw that an adjacent space had been added, probably by annexing a side room, to accommodate a new walk in closet that included a few female attires and a lot of free space that Vivaldi probably wanted to fill with the results of the shopping she had mentioned. They moved to the main room and both groaned loudly while unconsciously taking a step aside from each other that caused them heavy discomfort.

There was still just one big king sized bed, and they would have to share it.

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**Yeah, Vivaldi is gonna troll them both XD Sand I wonder how they will settle on sharing the bed. Dows anyone have an idea what Sydney had to play here at all?**

**And if you want more detailed info about the Jabberwocky and what the hell happened in Diamond, you can red the last chaps of the fic "Wonderful Wonderful Science: Diamond Dust", although I'm not planning to dig deep on that here. **

**At least 5 reviews on any of the stories for the next update .**


	4. The Beast Within

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**CHAPTER 4: THE BEAST WITHIN**

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"_To say that this sucks would be too light."_\- She growled with an annoyed, resigned sight - "_Just stay on the edge of your side rabbit. I tend to be aggressive upon any treat that wakes me up_.

"_This is my bed and I refuse to let you dirty it. You shall rather stay in the floor. "_

Aria's eyes lit with a digital red circle over her pupils. She wasn't in the mood to tolerate or deal with the insufferable white rodent anymore. Faster than expected, she grabbed the Prime Minister by the ears, only to let go a second later w It with a bloody scream of ire, feeling the impact of the internal connective needles of her suit in her skin; it was also accompanied by the electric jolt of the system's electricity, hitting her thought the reflection of what the rabbit had felt happening to her. It left him completely paralyzed in an almost seizure like pain.

The sensation went away as sudden as it had appeared and Peter took out his gun and pointed it at her before taking it away.-"_ What was that!?"_

She roared a few curses in her language while taking off her suit. This was bad. -_ "Among other stuff, my suit can enhance my reactions via electric stimulation by jolting electric impulses on my neural system. It's obvious that you can't take it and I can't deactivate it without risk unconsciously using it._"- After many years of living using those systems she couldn't simply just hook it off. She put on the very sexy and transparent night gown that Vivaldi had obviously ordered be left for her.

Peter, who had turned around when she began undressing, growled and noticed that his own flesh had been pierced in his back over his spine in needle-like punctures. He didn't want to think about it.-_"Still, the matter at hand remains. It's disgusting and improper to even think that you want to share on my bed._"

_"Shut it, rodent. Y__ou can transform into a rabbit like Sydney, can't you? Just do it and problem solved.__ And do so quickly. I wanna get some real rest _"- She sat on the edge of the bed to pile and organize her armor.

Peter huffed but recognized that such was probably the best option. A puff of smoke engulfed him, and the next instant he was a cute bunny standing on his hint legs.

He began turning around-"_Don't you dare dirty my fur you...!_"- He stopped his words when a deep growl came from a very big spotted feline resembling a leopard on steroids but with dots inside the rosettes of the fur. Where the mercenary had been, this monstrous cat stood, shaking its head with confusion and ripping of the fabrics of a night gown. From a photo in a mysterious book that had been held by a servant called 'Animals of the foreign world', he recognised it as a jaguar. - _"I knew you were quite the predatory beast._"- He had never seen a feline like this, he was impressed, but if he had gotten the same electric jolts she had, why would she avoid a change in shape when he transformed ?- "_ I would have expected some cold blooded reptile though ..."_

The feline's olive green eyes turned in his direction with a hungry look. She growled and extended her big sharp claws, seconds later arching her slim frame into a crouching position. Peter barely had a second of time to turn tail and run before she pounced with a deep roar.

"Wretched creature !"-Peter, in his a small bunny panic at being a prey to such big predator, had run to hide below a dresser just in time to avoid being snatched by her paws while she tried to unsuccessfully reach for him in the tight space.

_"React, you despicable wrench ! Were you not proud of your mind?! "_\- He called back to her while moving back to avoid another swipe of her claws. Her outstretched jaws could get her head pass the small opening, but Peter saw that the sharp fangs, probably big enough to bite down a crocodile, were eager to get a bite of him, and the occasional glimpse to her slitted eyes told him that it was no use trying to speak. She had gone feral.

Worse still, he was trapped under the big and heavy piece of furniture that give him the creeps out of its dirtiness. Once he got out of there he would kill the maids who had neglected in their jobs. But for now he was trapped in a very unclean place and couldn't transform in such a small space, nor could he get out or he'd end up chopped by the frumius cat that had resumed trying to reach him and was currently pacing around, just waiting for him to come out.

After a little while, she laid down on her side, trying to extend a paw and reach for him. She was determined to get him.

_("Why is she so persistent?_")- Peter knew she didn't like him at all , but that had nothing to do. A small growl from her stomach told him why. She was hungry. VERY hungry. Now that he tough of it. Besides what little she had during this day, how long has it been since she ate?

Her paws could barely fit on the very entrance bellow the furniture however, her body blocked any escape route. He had no choice but to remain in the filty place for hours, waiting. For the spotted menage to fall asleep, and when she did, he carefully slide away from his hidden place , as silent as he could be to not wake her up, and immediately transformed back without even glancing at her.

He moved quickly towards the bathroom with the clear intention and necessity to clean himself, however, once he was near the bathroom, the pain that cursed him to be near her began hitting him. He growled. He'd have to drag her towards the bathroom in order for him to take a bath.

Peter turned around, planning to kick her awake and was confronted by her naked tattooed back. Despite himself he blushed madly and turned around. He didn't wanted to see her naked body or touch her. She probably was even more filled with germs than he was after being trapped in that dusty corner, but he really needed to take a bath to get rid of such germs, plus, the room seemed hotter.

He took a breath, and still with his back towards her, he tried waking her up - "_Wake up, you __damned__ fool!_"- He didn't get any response – "_ Isn't it bad for a mercenary to fall asleep in such conditions?"_ –Still nothing. It was beginning to get weird. Why wasn't she jumping to attack him or something? – _"Aren't you ashamed of laying in the floor like the beast you were but minutes ago?"_

The light sounds of her breathing remained the same and the light echo of her sensations on his clock answered his questions. It finally occurred to him that the reason her feral self hadn't gone looking elsewhere for another prey was because she simply couldn't. Just as she had been too hungry, she was also too exhausted, which probably was the reason she hadn't tried far more during the day. She was so tired that right now she was closer to unconsciousness than to sleep.

He groaned with exasperation, this didn't change that he needed to reach the bathroom and remove all the germs over himself. And if she wasn't waking up, he'd have to drag her there somehow without touching her.

Looking around, his red eyes felt over the pillows of the bed. He managed to get close to enough to grab one and remove the pillowcase, then he turned just slightly towards her. Enough to see her legs but nothing more, and used the pillow case to more or legs drape the fabric over her ankles and drag her towards the bathroom.

Unsurprisingly she didn't react, more than enough prove of how tired she really was, and once he was at a distance where he could get into the shower without triggering the horrible curse, he left her on the floor and began cleansing himself.

While he took a bath, he reflected upon his unlucky situation, or at least he tried, every time he began thinking about how this affected him, his mind drifted at how it affected her. Moreover, he also began pondering on what may had happened to her during the interval she had been lost, and to his self-loathing, he might just be slightly worried. Not for her obviously, but because whatever had happened in that forsaken place might affect the rest of the countries, and on a second plane because he wasn't sure how this curse would affect him on a longer run.

Then, there was the little detail that this was her game. The dreaded game of hearts was going on with the mercenary as the start. He knew what would happen to him, and he didn't like it one bit. To think that his pure feelings for Alice could be tainted by the slight pity he had for this other outsider becoming something more, not only scared him, they made him feel dirty. And that kind of corruption could not be washed away with just water and soap.

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**It seems that transforming wont serve Peter for anything else but to become a snack, and she can't use the upper functionalities of her suit, ups. XD**

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**5 reviews for the next one.**


	5. Mr Bunnykins

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**CHAPTER 5: MR BUNNYKINS  
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Aria woke up in the floor with a blanket covering her sore naked body, with no idea how she had ended up there. She growled and got up, not caring a bit about her nakedness but disliking it.

"_About time you woke up_"-Seated on the bed already dressed and looking quite refreshed was Peter White, who also was looking away from her nakedness.

"_What happened?"-_ She eyes him suspiciously and wasn't in the mood to get into a fight but would not hesitate to it.

"_You felt unconscious and I left you there_"- His tone denoted truth but not all of it.

Aria twisted at the right and then to the left to make her spine crack back in place before stretching her whole body out while ignoring the silent bunny. For the moment she let this situation slip. Once she finished her little yoga stretching imitation, she looked around and saw that on her side of the bed were some clothes, including a formal suit, laid out for her. She grabbed it and put it on while he continued looking away in silence.

As soon as she was dressed and presentable, she tried heading for the door but was stopped by the tugging pain of getting too far away from the prime minister.

"_Uggg_"- She stopped her steps and turned her annoyed gaze towards the rabbit.-"_Come on prime minister, lets go_."

Peter stood straight and looked at her with narrowed eyes_.-"Where do you think you're going?" _

She set her hands on her hips and eyed him with equal disdain. – "_To get some information on how to get rid of you."-_ Her body was tense and it was obvious that her toughness wasn't all that real at the moment -"_You want to get rid of this situation too, so move out._"

He adjusted his glasses and hen motioned to the little dining room that was situated before the balcony within the bay window- "_Indeed I want to get rid of you, but not before I have some breakfast_."- The white and red table was laid out with a big quantity of nicely prepared food. – "_I also refuse to be subjected to your foreign weakness due to something as foolish as lack of you fall down out of simple hunger I will go down too and I refuse that._"

To her dismay, her stomach growled in agreement with his words. Without even the decency of blushing she took a couple steps back and in the direction of the food. _–"Very well. Let's eat then_"

At that, he only raised an eyebrow and followed her towards the table where both took a seat in front of each other.

"_Go ahead and fill yourself up. I already know you lack manners, so you can eat as the barbarian you are_"- Her stomach growled again as he took a slice of toast - "_You are really hungry aren't you? What were you doing before your presence was brought back to this side of the mirror?"_

"_I already spoke about it. I was in spades making some deals._"- She served herself some soup and lifted the bowl to her lips to drink it.

"Your evasives are unimpressive." - He took a big bite of the toast. -"_And your appetite so obvious that even I feel it's echo. So fill your mouth as much as your stomach_"- Somehow he had a sense of her hunger and it indeed echoed on him, it wasn't big and thankfully this didn't affected him on equal terms, still he clearly got the sense that she had been not just hungry but truly starving, that was why he had arranged such a copious breakfast. If she fainted from hunger that would not end well for him. He consumed his snack and followed with a cup of tea._– "What happened after such claimed deals?"_

Aria finished the soup and served herself some coffee, then began eating finely prepared scrambled eggs set over a baked potato.-"_Your sudden curiosity is baffling, White. Rest assured, it has no repercussions here._"- She considered things for a second and then a shiver extended through her spine and visibly echoed in Peter's body.

Peter's ears stood on edge by the sensation. The shiver hadn't been of cold, that was for sure, and if it was so bad that the callous dragon slayer shivered from it, then it was necessary he knew about it, whether as blackmailing information or for mere convenience knowledge in their situation.- "_It seems it does affect me. So speak it out_"

Aria gulped down her coffee and when she left the mug in the table, her hold of it wasn't completely steady. She looked at Peter in the eyes with and maintained the gaze for a few seconds before she spoke- "_I was in the nightmare realm roaming in the darkness and relieving some memories._"

By her next shiver it was clear that those memories weren't nice at all if they were so bad that even the dragon slayer mercenary that had faced and defeated the Jabberwocky flinched at them.

Peter didn't answer to that. He merely took a sip of his milky tea and pondered such information while they continued their first meal together in silence. He, being the role holder that was connected to a foreigner's most treasured memories, knew that when even those weren't good, this foreigner was in a far worse state than anyone could ponder. Her definition of good memories involved harsh but useful or meaningful life lessons more than anything related to happiness. Back in Diamond he had seen into those and even he had felt pity for such a void existence like that of hers, but now it was something he simply wanted to get away from before it contaminated his own existence. She was like an abyss of darkness that dragged everything into oblivion, and yet, her game was going on and this world would not let him forget that he was a player nor would it spare him or anyone the dread; whether he liked it or not.

No more words were exchanged as they finished eating.

They left the castle as soon as they were ready, and not but a couple hours later they found themselves climbing the stairs of the Clock Tower towards the mortician's office and workshop in order to be able to cross towards the country of Clover via the door that connected Julius's office to Nightmare's.

The newly appointed '_Chief Executive for the Interior'_ opened the door without even knocking and as soon as the mortician raised his gaze to see who had interrupted, he stopped repairing the clock he had in his hands and left it on the table while standing up quickly. He was unable to believe who he was seeing. -_"Aria!?... Where… What happened to you?"_ – Julius barely articulated as he moved to follow up.

"_Hi, Julius. We're here just to cross and see Nightmare_"- Aria waved her hand with apparent boredness and ignored his surprise at her sudden reappearance in order to continue her pace, followed close by the prime minister.

"_That's partly what I wanna know, Julius._" – She nonchalantly said while opening the door and crossing without ado; followed by Peter who had remained silent, and by Julius, who had actually left his work unfinished to follow them in confusion.

At the other side, Nightmare could be seen dozing off over a pile of paperwork with his head resting on the back of his hand.

A curl of a smirk was seen on the corner of the foreigner's lips when she turned around to Julius and Peter with her index finger over her mouth to ask for their silence.

Peter rolled his eyes but followed her in silence when she swiftly walked nimbly to stand in front of the incubus desks, and in a sudden move, she slammed her hands hard on the desk's surface as she screamed –"_Wake up Nightmare!"_

Her yell managed to surprise even the white rabbit and the clock master who were watching, and caused the incubus's head to fall hard and flat over the papers and hit his nose.

"_I WAS JUST RESTING MY EYES! Wait…_ _WHAT!? Who dares wake me up_?" – He tried sounding important but he failed miserably at it, especially when he began rubbing his nose and still closed eyes.

Aria's mocking response dripped with sarcastic politeness but it held real humor._ \- "It's your fault for falling asleep so carelessly_"

Nightmare stopped massaging his nose and looked at whom had addressed him. – "_Aria you're fine!"_ – He quickly stood over his desk and moved forward to grab her arms by the elbows – "_Thank Wonderland, we thought you were lost into Spades!"_

She tensed up and got out of Nightmare's grip before she raised an eyebrow at the incubus's display– "_I was."- _Her tone didn't let on any emotion_. -"But fine? That depends on your definition of '_fine' "-She moved a step back to get clear of his reach.

Julius moved past the white rabbit and joined them at the desk while she took another step back to keep some distance. He looked her up and down for signs of injuries and finally decided to simply ask -"_Are you hurt? What happened?"_

Aria took even another step back as if she was uncomfortable with the proximity. She took a deep breath and crossed her arms while looking away – _"I'm not sure about the hurt thing, but I don't present heavy injuries in my structure"_\- She then sighted and looked at Peter – "_However I DO have a heavy dilemma at the moment and that's why we are here."_

Nightmare and Julius looked at each other before Nightmare floated up and over the desk to land in front of it. There was too much they wanted to ask her, but they bombarding her with questions would not serve for much.– _"Dilemma?"- _

She rummaged in her stuff and took out the clock that she had found along her vial, and that ticked at the same pace as Peter's own clock- "_A heavy inconvenience_." – The mercenary acted calm and impassive. But it was clear that it was just that, a mere act. She held the clock in front of them. – _"Do you know what this is or how it works? The only think we know is that it was somehow supposed to link the time of my vial to the time in the country of hearts by using White as anchor. And somehow whenever I get too far away from the rodent…_ "- She signaled to Peter.-"We get struck by a wave of pain, and whatever injury he sustains also appears on me and vice versa."- How she managed to keep up her act and remain passive during that explanation was a mystery; or perhaps she really was impassive about it. When the mercy it was never possible to tell.–"_As I said, a REAL inconvenience"_

Nightmare leaned forward to examine the clock and then shocked his head.-"_Sorry, but I have never seen this… But how did it happen?"_

"_How would I know?"_ –Aria huffed in annoyance – _"There's a reason I'm asking you. If I knew I would have bothered coming here."_

Nightmare's eyes glued to her's trying to decipher what was behind those lines. He would have liked to read her mind to find it out, but he knew that trying that would be useless due to the way she 'processed' rather than 'think' and if tried he would only set her off. He thought a couple of questions for her, but before he could ask her more, Julius interrupted.

"_I do know what that is. I sense it. That clock is a relic that binds time as you said"-_ Julius extended his hand to check it – "_May I?"_

Aria nodded and handed the clock to him. Julius began examining it immediately.

"_So you are staying at the castle for the time being?"-_ Nightmare tried to make some conversation while the mortician finished the examination.

"_Unfortunately so_."- Peter really didn't like to be there in such company, but he needed to find a way to end this predicament and if they could do so then he'd tolerate being near such company for a little while. He'd even give out information.-"_She refuses to say where or what exactly happened. She just keeps alleging she make some deal_."

Aria narrowed her eyes at him and the tension began escalating– "I made a deal and_ a deal was made with me_. That is all."- She growled to the rabbit before turning her gaze back to Nightmare, who was looking very interested in this. –"_Yes, I ended up in Spades. The place was dead but not empty. Out of your interest I can say that Spades and Diamond will eventually be fine."_

Nightmare remained silent for a couple seconds and then his lips were set into a straight line. She seemed somehow void. – "_What happened to you, Aria?"_

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, when she opened her eyes again her gaze seemed tired but fiery.-"_By all means, my game should have ended. Yet I am somehow here and my vial is not broken as it should, and it's time is supposedly linked to that clock and I can't get away from the __bothersome rodent_."-She finished while pointing to the clock in Julius's hands. –"_That's what happened!"- _Her control over herself seemed to slip away for a second, surprising all the men in the room. She was always controlled, or she had always been so before the incidents that led to her end up in Spades.

Julius returned the clock and looked at her intently before speaking –"_Your time is not set in this country at the moment. This relic is keeping you here rather than wherever you was before by means of linking your time to the White rabbit's clock. It seems that it is somehow exchanging your times_."- He explained.

Nightmare eyed the White rabbit who didn't get what this meant for him and whose thoughts were dedicated to dread that he'd have to share his space with the mercenary. However the lord of clover understood what this all meant. He changed then his demeanor to a more goofy tone. –"_So it seems that until your vial fills up you two are quite tied_?"

"_Ughh… don't remind me. That thing is empty again._"- Aria rolled her eyes and then took her fingers to her temple. – "_So there's not getting away from Lord Bunnykins at the moment…"_

"_Lord Bunnnykins…pppfff…hahahahaha_!"- Nightmare couldn't contain himself and busted out laughing.

Peters ears stood up as he took out his pink revolver to aim at Nightmare – "_That despicable nickname has no humor in its words, so silence your laugh!"_

"_Oh but it does! And is more funny that you aren't shooting anyone immediately for it_"- Nightmare kept snickering before getting more serious – "_Take off that weapon prime minister. It's rude of you to aim at the lord of a territory while being in an uninvited guest that came asking for help_"

Before Peter really shot, Aria grabbed the clock from Julius's hand and set it into her things again._ -"We'll be on our way then_"

"_So fast_?" – After examining that relic Julius seemed irked. There were far more things he wanted to say, ask or explain, but he wasn't sure it'd be a good idea. At least not at the moment.

"_I said that I had no other reason to be here besides getting information and that has been achieved although not in a satisfactory way. _" –Aria once more turned towards Peter before turning around and taking a step away – "_Stop playing and let's go Bunnykins_"

"_Refrain from referring to me by such word, you rouge."-_ Peter could feel a vein begin to pop on his forehead. However he lowered his gun so they could go away.

She grunted and responded to him with acid distaste dripping from every word -"_You haven't earned a single deference from me and you deserve naught, Bunnykins." _

At the very least, Nightmare found this extremely funny. But beyond the fact that their times were tied, this was amazing. She had been brought back and a new chance had been given to her game. Wonderland wanted her game to be fulfilled. This world wanted her here and such provided them with a new opportunity to set things right. The caterpillar he smiled deeply – "_I do hope this new round of the game is fun." _

Aria stopped her visual sparring with the prime minister and turned to Nightmare. -"_There's a curse that goes 'May you live interesting times', Nightmare"_\- She then nodded in acknowledgement to him and to Julius, and smirked without humor. – _"Wasn't clocks not being repaired and the threat of extinction tot his world interesting? Wasn't the Jabberwocky quite the interesting experience in Diamond?_"- She turned to leave and started to walk away. –"_Now, adieu."_

Nightmare knew that there was something wrong with her, well, even more than what it was obvious. But there was nothing they could do about it at the moment.- "_It almost seems as if you don't want to see us, Aria._"

Without turning back she answered- "_I don't. At least I don't know. I don't forget that you sent me into a suicidal mission. I don't forget that you hunted me down all the way to Diamond, and I don't forget all I remembered while fighting the Jabberwocky or …._ "

"_That's not true. We didn't go to Diamond to hunt you down_"- Julius words sounded a bit too desperate and angry on the issue.

She stopped her steps but didn't looked at them.- "_Why would I believe you? I don't. I have no reason or incentive to even try to. Whether I may or may not want it._"- Her hands turned into first as she took another step away, beginning to feel the pain but not caring about it –"_For now I only need to survive long enough till my vial fills again, then… well that's for me to decide._"

Peter caught up with her and saw the hollowness in her eyes. – "_About time._"- He then took the lead on the way out.

Once they were away Nightmare took out his pipe and eyed the mortician –"_They didn't understand what is happening to their times. Will you do something_?"

"_No, and no."-_ Julius didn't seem to kin on the smoke.

"_It will be interesting once they understand it_."- The incubus chuckled. –"_Well, at least the reactions of the prime minister will be entertaining. The outsider clearly does not care._"

Julius gave a look at the incubus and noticed that his grip on the pipe wasn't so straight. He didn't care either about the rabbit, but she was of his worry. After all that had happened… it wasn't a surprise that she wanted nothing to do with them.

"_Yet her game is still on. Ain't that quite fortunate?"-_ Nightmare chuckled while eyeing Julius through the corner of his eye.

Julius crossed his arms and sighted -"_It's interesting_"- He then returned to his own tower to continue with the overwhelming amounts of work.

Back in the streets, Peter was walking by the side of the mercenary, who kept looking around all the time as if looking for something. –"_Now where are we heading_? "

"_Where I can get a drink._"- She eyed some local shops – "_The one with the heaviest amount of alcoholic grade I can find."_

Peter grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her around, but she pulled her arm violently and kicked him in the chest to get him away.

"_Don't touch me, rabbit_!"- Her hiss was as much from receiving the blunt of her own hit on him as it was of ire to him.

In automatic he took out his revolver and pointed it at her.

Her right eye narrowed and her expression became a maddened scowl -"_Go ahead and shoot. Kill us both and then have Alice discover truths so despairing that she at the very least will kill herself_"

He transformed his gun back into a pocket watch and leaned forward to face her. "_I refuse to be subjected to your whims for such despicable activity as drunkenness_"- He growled back while ignoring the flicker of madness in her expression. –"_If you get drunk there's the possibility that it will affect me and we will not be able to fend any attack"_

"_That is the reason why we require the alcohol, you fool."-_ Her expression went back to a normal scowl._ -"We need to know how much the consumption of substances affects the other and at which rate and percentage."_

Peter should have known that she had more reasons and plans. She always did for everything she did. It made sense. However Peter wasn't convinced into participate in this experiment of hers. To him this just seemed like an excuse for her to get drunk even if it provided information about their complicated situation _–"Then try it somewhere safe and with other substance"_

She huffed while proudly crossing her arms. –"_There already hundreds of statistics about alcohol. That makes it easier to measure._"- She blinked slowly and the she suddenly turned her head to eye a couple shops or rather the alleyway between them.

"_Or is that that you want to go to somewhere in particular and you use the alcohol as an excuse?"_ – Although Peter had seen who, he clearly noticed that someone had been hiding in that alley.

Aria stepped in front of him. She knew he was more than suspicious, and although she wanted to contact her faction, The Lullaby, she was not about to risk them out of a stupid haste or personal desire to see them. She was not risking any holder finding out about them. - _"Alright. Let's go back to the castle, and when we get there I'm going to perform all the appropriate experiments to define the extension of this situation in as many contexts as needed"_

"_You won't get me drunk!"-_ Peter felt nauseous about the mere idea of the stench of drunkenness.

She rolled her eyes and huffed with heavy annoyance.- _"I'm the one who will get drunk to see if you get drunk."-_ Her index finger was then pointed at his chest. –"_We need to know if it's possible. What if one of us get's drugged or gets sick and the other gets it too? Medicine that works on one could be poison to the other. Or simply if one needs something like a laxative it wouldn't be fun for the other, would it?"_

He gulped down at the horrible possibilities that could arise. So he had to acknowledge that it made sense that they figured out the extends of this curse.

"_You will refrain from complete drunkenness_"- He was aware that his words were meaningless to her and her experimentation plans.

"_Complete drunkenness_ would be hard. I happen to be able to rival Ace when it comes to drinking"- She turned her head to the side to crack her neck while Peter paled, and with that said, they headed back to the castle with the prospect of heavy doses of alcohol consumption in the horizon.

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**I can only imagine how much Peter hates when she is right and her plans have far more sense and meaning that just her whims XD Even when the plan is about getting drunk.**


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